Artist Statement

Animated figures have been in existence since antiquity, primarily as religious icons. The illusion of life where it should not exist forces our minds into the uncanny valley of emotional response to an unreal human semblance. A rod puppet evokes a feeling of safety for the viewer since their mind can identify the source of the life-like movement, unlike the autonomous motion of an agitated man inside a glass dome, or an engrossed “Reader” interrupted to observe his observers.

The movements of these figures are either instantaneous, or have imperceptible motion creating a static illusion where the figure appears to be lifeless, but changes position over time like the hands of clock creating the sensation that the figure is looking back, so the observer wonders: “Who is watching whom?”.